Apparatus for impact dyeing fibers

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for impact dyeing a bundle of fibers wherein the fiber bundle is sandwiched between an open belt and an impervious belt and brought into contact with a compartmented porous belt containing a dye, the porous belt contacting the open belt. Impact forces applied through the impervious belt to the porous belt drive the dye from the porous belt through the open belt and into the bundle of fibers.

United States Patent James G. T. Paterson Decatur, Ala. 846,535

July 31, 1969 Apr. 13, 1971 Monsanto Company St. Louis, Mo.

Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee APPARATUS FOR IMPACT DYEING FIBERS 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

Int. Cl D061 35/00 Field of Search 68/204, 3

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,134,702 4/1915 Seltenreich Primary Examiner-Jacob L. Nackenoff Attorneys-Robert L. Broad, Jr. and Roy P. Wymbs ABSTRACT: An apparatus for impact dyeing a bundle of fibers wherein the fiber bundle is sandwiched between an open belt and an impervious belt and brought into contact 7 with a compartmented porous belt containing a dye, the porous belt contacting the open belt. Impact forces applied through the impervious belt to the porous belt drive the dye from the porous belt through the open belt and into the bundle of fibers.

PATENTEDAPRISIQYI 3 574278 I INVENTOR. JAMES G. T. PATERSON Emwx ATTORNEY APPARATUS FOR IMPACT DYEING FIBERS This invention relates to apparatus for impact dyeing fibers and more particularly to impact dyeing bundles of fibers which may be in the form of staple fibers or continuous filaments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the conventional process of dyeing a tow of filaments the tow is immersed in a bath containing a suitable dyestuff and kept there until the proper dyeing action takes place. Subsequent treatment of the tow includes the steaming and drying thereof. Disadvantages of this process are that great amounts of water are required and a considerable amount of energy is required for steaming and then drying the tow. Further, it has been difficult if not impossible to dye a bundle of staple fibers for the reason that an open bundle or web of staple fibers has little or no tensile strength and can therefore be easily pulled apart. In the present invention these disadvantages are overcome.

One object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for dyeing a fiber bundle.

A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for impact dyeing a fiber bundle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for continuously dyeing a fiber bundle wherein the fiber bundle is held between an open belt and an impervious belt and impact forces are utilized to drive a dye from a porous belt through the open belt into the fiber bundle.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the drawings in which: a

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the impacting mechanism utilized in the apparatus of F IG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the porous belt utilized .for carrying a dye.

Referring now in detail to the drawing there is shown a frame 11 (only fragments of the frame are shown) supporting an anvil roll 12 and an idle roll 13. The rolls l2 and 13 are spaced from each other in a parallel relationship and mounted on the frame 11 for rotating movement to carry a dye carrying belt 16, the anvil roll 12 being driven by a motor 14. The belt 16, which is disclosed and claimed in application Ser. No. 502,007, filed Oct. 22, 1965 in the names of James G. T. Paterson, Ashley P. Smith and James K. Sams, now 11.8. Pat. No. 3,461,800, is made up of a plurality of porous felt cells 17 as best illustrated in FIG. 3. The cells 17 are separated by impervious partitions 18 which prevent migration of a liquid coloring agent from one cell to another. The belt 16 is provided with an impervious backing layer 19 which is in contact with the rolls l2 and 13.

Rolls 22 mounted on the frame 11 carry an open belt 23, the belt 23 extending over the anvil roll 12 in contact with the porous belt 16. The term open belt indicates a belt made of a material through which dye from the porous belt 16 may readily pass. For example, the open belt 23 may be made of a thin mesh or scrim material. The rolls 22 are so positioned on the frame 11 that the path of the open belt 23 describes a triangle, the anvil roll 12 and the idle roll 13 being positioned inside this triangle. The purpose of utilizing a triangular path for the open belt 23 is to provide room for the anvil and the idle rolls 12 and 13 and an apparatus for applying a dye or other coloring agent to the porous belt 16.

The dye applying apparatus may take the form of a spray nozzle 26 connected to a dye supply and pump 27. As the porous belt 16 moves past the nozzle 26 a spray of dye from this noule fills the cells 18 in the belt 16.

Rolls 30 mounted on the frame 11 carry an impervious belt 31 made of a material such as thin rubber. The impervious belt 31 engages the open belt 23 at the point at which the belt 23 passes over the anvil roll 12. Thus; a bundle of filaments 32 being carried by the open belt 23 is sandwiched between the open belt and the impervious belt 31 at the anvil roll as best shown in FIG. 2.

The rolls 30 are so positioned on the frame 11 that the impervious belt 31 travels along a substantially triangular path. The purpose of this triangular path is to provide room for an impacting mechanism 33 adjacent to the anvil roll 12.

The impacting mechanism 33 comprises a plurality of impact earns 35 positioned side by side to extend across the impervious belt 31. An eccentric, rotating drive shaft 36 extends through the cams 35 and is mounted for rotation on the frame 11, each of the cams 35 being provided with a bearing 37 through which the drive shaft extends. A pin or rod 40 secured to the frame 11 extends through a slot 41 in each of the cams 35 to prevent rotation of the cams.

The axis of rotation of the shaft 36 is offset from the geometric axis of the shaft in a well-known manner, so that this shaft serves as an eccentric. Since the rod 40 prevents rotation of the cams 35, rotation of the eccentric drive shaft 36 results in reciprocation of the cams 35.

Each of the cams 35 is provided with a hammer portion 44 positioned to engage the resilient belt 31 as it passes over the anvil roll 12. it can readily be seen that rotation of the drive shaft 36 will cause the hammer portion 44 to reciprocate and strike the resilient belt 31. The impact forces applied by the hammer portion 44 of the cam 35 are transmitted through the belts 31 and 23 to the porous belt 16 to drive the coloring agent from the belt 16 through the open belt 23 and into the bundle 32 of fibers.

In operation of the apparatus the belts 16, 23 and 31 are driven continuously (by the motor 14 or other means), with the fiber bundle 32 being fed into position between the belts 23 and 31. The dye supplying mechanism 27 forces a spray of dye from the nozzle 26 to fill the cells 17in the porous belt 16 with the dye. At the point where the belt 23 and 31 pass over the anvil roll 12 the impacting mechanism 33 applies impact forces to the contacting belts to drive the dye from the cells 17 through the open belt 23 and into the fiber bundle 32.

The size of the cells 17 in the belt 16 is of importance. If the faces of the cells in contact with the open belt and the fiber bundle 32 are too large the dye will tend to scatter (i.e., exit from the cell 17 in directions other than perpendicular to the face of the cell). This may result in an uneven application of dye to the fiber bundle 32, thereby causing streaks in the fiber bundle.

For acceptable results, the size of the faces of the cells 17 should not exceed about /sinch square. Preferably, the faces of the cells 17 are no larger than about one-eighth inch by one-eighth inch. This will insure that the dye does not move laterally when exiting from the cells but will travel in a direction substantially perpendicular to the face of the cells 17.

lclaim:

1. An apparatus for impact dyeing a bundle of fibers, comprising:

a. an anvil roll,

b. a porous belt extending across the anvil roll for carrying a supply of dye,

c. an open belt extending across the anvil roll in contact with the porous belt for carrying a bundle of fibers,

d. an impervious belt extending across the anvil roll in contact with the fiber bundle and the open belt, and

e. means adjacent to the anvil roll for applying impact forces through the impervious belt to the porous belt to drive the dye through the open belt into the fiber bundle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the porous belt is divided into a plurality of porous dye carrying cells, said cells being separated by impervious partitions to prevent lateral flow of the dye in said belt.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the size of the cells is no greater than about one-half inch by one-half inch.

4. An apparatus for impact dyeing a bundle of fibers, comprising:

a. an anvil roll,

b. a first roll spaced from and parallel to the anvil roll,

c. a porous belt extending around the anvil roll and the first roll for carrying a supply of dye,

d. a pair of second rolls spaced from and parallel to the anvil roll,

e. an open belt extending around the anvil roll and the second rolls for carrying a bundle of fibers, said open belt being in contact with the porous belt at the point where the porous belt is in contact with the anvil roll,

f. a plurality of third rolls spaced from and parallel to the anvil roll,

g. an impervious belt extending around the third rolls and open belt and into the bundle of fibers.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the means for applying impact forces comprises an impact cam mounted for substantially reciprocating motion and having thereon a hammer portion movable into contact with the impervious belt, and eccentric drive means for reciprocating the impact cam to apply impact forces through said impervious belt to said porous belt.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the porous belt is divided into individual dye carrying cells, said cells being separated from each other by impervious partitions to prevent lateral flow of the dye in said belt.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the size of the cells is no greater than about one-half inch by one-half inch.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the cells size is about one-eighth inch by one-eighth inch. 

1. An apparatus for impact dyeing a bundle of fibers, comprising: a. an anvil roll, b. a porous belt extending across the anvil roll for carrying a supply of dye, c. an open belt extending across the anvil roll in contact with the porous belt for carrying a bundle of fibers, d. an impervious belt extending across the anvil roll in contact with the fiber bundle and the open belt, and e. means adjacent to the anvil roll for applying impact forces through the impervious belt to the porous belt to drive the dye through the open belt into the fiber bundle.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the porous belt is divided into a plurality of porous dye carrying cells, said cells being separated by impervious partitions to prevent lateral flow of the dye in said belt.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the size of the cells is no greater than about one-half inch by one-half inch.
 4. An apparatus for impact dyeing a bundle of fibers, comprising: a. an anvil roll, b. a first roll spaced from and parallel to the anvil roll, c. a porous belt extending around the anvil roll and the first roll for carrying a supply of dye, d. a pair of second rolls spaced from and parallel to the anvil roll, e. an open belt extending around the anvil roll and the second rolls for carrying a bundle of fibers, said open belt being in contact with the porous belt at the point where the porous belt is in contact with the anvil roll, f. a plurality of third rolls spaced from and parallel to the anvil roll, g. an impervious belt extending around the third rolls and contacting the open belt and the bundle of fibers at the anvil roll, the third rolls being so positioned that the path of the impervious belt substantially defines a triangle, and h. means positioned adjacent to the anvil roll and within said triangle for applying impact forces to the impervious belt to drive the dye from the porous belt through the open belt and into the bundle of fibers.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the means for applying impact forces comprises an impact cam mounted for substantially reciprocating motion and having thereon a hammer portion movable into contact with the impervious belt, and eccentric drive means for reciprocating the impact cam to apply impact forces through said impervious belt to said porous belt.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the porous belt is divided into individual dye carrying cells, said cells being separated from each other by impervious partitions to prevent lateral flow of the dye in said belt.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the size of the cells is no greater than about one-half inch by one-half inch.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the cells size is about one-eighth inch by one-eighth inch. 